The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Many current and future features to be employed on motor vehicles rely on the ability of a camera carried on the vehicle to clearly view a scene in proximity to the vehicle, for example directly or partially behind the vehicle. Camera wash cleaning technology that are used to clean a rear camera are not designed for extreme weather conditions such as severe rain, heavy snow, sleet, or heavy dust or dirt. A significant challenge exists in providing a mechanism that is able to continuously clean a camera lens under such conditions.
Various attempts at addressing the challenge of keeping a camera lens clean during heavy rain, snowfall, etc., have involved the use of air pumps for applying a direct, continuous airflow onto the lens, as well as various types of lens coatings designed to shed water (hydrophobic/hydrophilic), and shape memory alloy (SMA) wipers. Each of these approaches has been met with only limited success.
Thus, there remains a need for a highly compact camera system that is able to continuously clean a lens of a camera during heavy rainfall, snowfall, sleet, and other inclement weather conditions, and to perform the cleaning in a manner that does not obstruct the image being obtained by the camera, and which provides a highly compact assembly that can be easily integrated into a variety of body panels and/or body components of a motor vehicle.